8.3.4
Contacts:
Meredith Jorss, mjorss@strength.org
Mary Blanton Ogushwitz, JamesBeard@magrinopr.com
6/11/2020, Washington, DC - The coronavirus has caused a catastrophic health and economic emergency that is pushing millions of Americans into poverty and hunger. Estimates show that 1 in 4 children in the United States could face hunger this year.
Share Our Strength, the parent organization of the No Kid Hungry campaign, and the James Beard Foundation have partnered to support the Community Meals Fund (H.R. 6384). This bill would provide resources for anti-hunger nonprofits to create public-private partnerships with restaurants to provide needed meals to children and other vulnerable populations. Together, the organizations unified over 400 chefs behind a letter to Congress, urging the adoption of this legislation in the next coronavirus relief package.
These types of partnerships are seeing great success in cities nationally—and federal funding could help expand and keep these initiatives sustainable.
The following experts are available to comment on the role of chefs in feeding communities both during crises and every day, and the importance of public-private partnerships supported through the Community Meals Fund:
- Lisa Davis, senior vice president, Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign
- Katherine Miller, vice president of impact, James Beard Foundation
For more information about childhood hunger, No Kid Hungry's support of the Community Meals Fund or to speak with Lisa Davis, contact Meredith Jorss at mjorss@strength.org. For more information about the James Beard Foundation's support of the Community Meals Fund or to speak with Katherine Miller, contact Mary Blanton Ogushwitz at JamesBeard@magrinopr.com.
Lisa Davis serves as senior vice president of Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign. In this capacity, she is responsible for developing and implementing results-driven strategies and local campaigns that leverage partnerships, programmatic expertise, advocacy and communications to increase participation in federal nutrition programs and build momentum toward ending childhood hunger. [Full bio available here]
Katherine Miller is the vice president of Impact at the James Beard Foundation. Katherine is an award-winning communications executive, campaign strategist, and social media expert who leads a team dedicated to engaging the culinary community in the ongoing process of creating a sustainable food system for all. She is the founding executive director of the Chef Action Network (CAN) and has served as the Foundation's senior director of policy and advocacy since 2016. [Full bio available here]
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About No Kid Hungry
No child should go hungry in America. But in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, 1 in 4 kids could face hunger this year. No Kid Hungry is working to end childhood hunger by helping launch and improve programs that give all kids the healthy food they need to thrive. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization committed to ending hunger and poverty.
8.3.4